Was there a criminal group whose members allegedly included, among others, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Justice, and whose aim was to take over, among other institutions, the National Prosecutor’s Office? Although the initial investigation conducted by the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Radom was discontinued, today the Warsaw Regional Court ordered that the proceedings be resumed and that all doubts be clarified, as this had not been done so far. Interestingly, among the witnesses to be questioned may be Sławomir Patyra, recently elected by the Sejm as a judge of the Constitutional Tribunal.
On 12 January 2024, the December 13 coalition took over the National Prosecutor’s Office, preventing prosecutor Dariusz Barski from performing the duties of head of the National Prosecutor’s Office.
Three legal opinions were used in the process, one of which was authored by Sławomir Patyra, recently elected by the Sejm as a judge of the Constitutional Tribunal.
Following these events, politicians from Law and Justice (PiS) submitted a notification of suspicion of committing a crime, and there were also suggestions of the existence of a criminal group aimed at committing official misconduct offences. According to the complainants, its members would include, among others, Prime Minister Donald Tusk and then Minister of Justice Adam Bodnar.
The investigation was initiated by the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Radom, but it was quickly concluded with a decision to discontinue the proceedings. Interestingly, this decision was made even without questioning key witnesses, including prosecutor Barski.
This decision was appealed, and today the Warsaw Regional Court overturned the discontinuation and ordered that the proceedings be carried out.
Attorney Michał Skwarzyński, who represents the Law and Justice (PiS) parliamentary group in this case (which has victim status, similarly to Barski), confirmed that the appeal was upheld.
“A criminal group, which I call the ‘Fighting Democracy’ group, is to be examined by the prosecutor’s office”, lawyer Skwarzyński told Niezalezna.pl. “The court ordered an investigation into the relations between the minister and the prime minister, as well as an examination of whether there was pressure on the prosecutors conducting the proceedings, and how the issue of commissioning legal opinions looked.”
This means that Sławomir Patyra should also be among the witnesses whom the prosecutor’s office will now have to question.
Judge Adam Jaworski also wrote about today’s ruling, emphasizing:
“The court left no stone unturned in the challenged decision, as well as in the actions of Bodnar in January 2024. It indicated, among other things, that:
- the rule of law does not mean authorization to question rulings based on a judicial panel that does not meet the prosecutor’s approval;
- in a state governed by the rule of law, there is no place for creating law through a fait accompli;
- instrumental contra legem interpretation may constitute abuse of power.”